Inuvik (Mar 07/03) - An Inuvik woman is shocked to find out that the man who killed her sister has returned to the area without her knowledge and she wants him run off.

Laura Moses said the man who killed her sister more than 20 years ago has returned and she's enraged that no one notified her or family.

"No one even tried to contact our family to let us know that he was being released," Moses said. "I don't even think he should be allowed to live in Inuvik with us still living here."

"It was such a violent crime and we should have been notified," she said.

Albert Andre Ross, now 40 years old, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of 15-year-old Heather Pascal of Inuvik on May 1, 1982. He became eligible for lifetime parole in 1998.

Ross has returned to the area and Moses is circulating a petition to have him banished.

"I'll be going around town gathering signatures -- I think he should be banned from Inuvik."

As of press time, Moses had collected 76 names on the petition.

"A lot of people remember what happened and they wanted to sign it," she said.

Last week, her mother saw Ross in the bank. She said they shouldn't have to endure the grief all over again.

"It's like reliving the whole thing all over again, when we see him or bump into him," Moses said.

Since she found out her sister's killer is in town, she has also started taking precautions.

"I worry about my kids now," she said. "Normally I'd let them walk back and forth to school, but now I'm pretty clingy."

Staff Sgt. Mark Wharton of the Inuvik RCMP said his office was not notified of Ross' release either.

Andrea Markowski, area director for Correctional Services Canada, would not speak to the individual case, but did explain the process.

"Offenders, like every other citizen of Canada, have a right to privacy," Markowski said.

The victim or survivor must contact the agency to request information on the offender.

"A victim or family members of a diseased or disabled victim can apply for what's called victim notification, but they have to apply for that," she said. "We don't go tracking down victims and trying to provide them with details of things, because that's really traumatizing to a lot of people."

"It has to be triggered by the victim's expression of interest," she said.

Markowski said victims or their families can contact Correctional Services Canada or the National Parole Board for an application.

"Their need to know about where the offender is and the status of that case overrides the offender's right to privacy," she said.

The agency will keep the victim or family up to date and in case the person is being considered for release and hearing dates. The board will also accept written, audio or video statements the victim or family.

If an individual is deemed dangerous to the community, public notification is the responsibility of the RCMP.

"If they feel that an individual poses an imminent threat, they make the decision to make that exposure," she said.

Moses has requested the application form and in the meantime will circulate her petition around town.

"This guy shouldn't be allowed to carry on life just the way he wants when my sister is six feet underground," she said.